Man fined for parking on his own driveway

PUBLISHED: 15:46 23 April 2008 | UPDATED: 13:12 06 May 2010

David Hambly in front of his driveway with his parking ticket

FURIOUS St Albans resident Dave Hambly has been fined £80 -- for parking on his own drive. Mr Hambly, aged 47, of Lavender Crescent, St Albans, has vowed he will not pay up. He is a tenant of London Strategic Housing (LSH) because he is a social worker in

FURIOUS St Albans resident Dave Hambly has been fined £80 -- for parking on his own drive.

Mr Hambly, aged 47, of Lavender Crescent, St Albans, has vowed he will not pay up.

He is a tenant of London Strategic Housing (LSH) because he is a social worker in Barnet and therefore classed as a key worker.

He cannot believe that although he pays £736 a month to rent his two-bedroom home for himself and his wife, he has been told he now requires a permit to park on his own drive.

He said: "I was told to produce all my car documents in exchange for a free parking permit for myself but told I would have to pay £30 for an additional visitor's permit so that friends could also park on my drive which has space for two cars."

Mr Hambly said he felt discriminated against as owners of nearby private houses would not be expected to comply with these rules.

He said: "This is an infringement of my human rights. It's like being part of a Nazi state being asked to produce documents for something which should be my right. For two pins I feel like shoving my house keys back at them. "How dare they allow parking wardens onto my drive to fine me. In my book that's trespassing."

When he complained, he was told he was lucky not to be clamped.

Mr Hambly said most of the tenants had signed a petition saying they did not want the permit scheme brought in When he asked why they were doing it, he was told it was to prevent visitors to the City Hospital avoiding car-parking charges by putting their cars on people's drives.

But he said: "In practice that simply does not happen. How many people are that cheeky that they would park on a private drive?

"Also, if an Englishman's home is meant to be his castle why are people allowed to come onto my drive and put parking tickets on my car?"

Jon Dawson, Director of London Strategic Housing, confirmed that the permit scheme had been started in January in response to complaints about people parking in residents' parking bays and driveways.

He said Mr Hambly had been given a ticket because his vehicle did not show a valid permit.

He said: "All our other residents have complied and everyone is benefiting from a significant reduction in unauthorised parking."

The Car Parking Partnership based in Northampton which put the ticket on Mr Hambly's car on the drive refused to comment.

On top of the parking penalty, LSH - a registered charity with offices in Wembley and Harrow - has just increased Mr Hambly's rent by an inflation-busting five per cent.